Apparatus for transferring loads from pallets to industrial trucks



NOV. 6, 1 |SLER APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING LOADS FROM v FALLETS TO INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS Original Filed Oct. 27, 1943 2 SHEETS-SHEET l L P P L P' p Nov. 6, 1951 2,574,394

W. ISLER APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING LOADS FROM PALLETS TO INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS Original Filed Oct. 27, 1943 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 INVENTOR. WIL L IAM ISLER.

Patented Nov. 6, 1951 APPARATUS FOR` TRANSFERRVING LoADS FRQM PALLIETSl To INDUsTmAL 'TRUCKS -William Isler, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignm- .to 'Sheldon'K Towson, Shaker' Heights, Ohio Original application .October 2.7, 1943, Serial No.

507,792. Divided and vthis application December 15,1A94,5Seria`lNol 635,323

6 Claims.

This invention relates, as indicated, to"appal ratusfor transferringloads from pallets to Vin,- dustrialitrucks andv isfa division. ofr my co-pending application Serial No. 507,792, led October:2.7, 1943,now Patent No. 2,394,692.

In the handling of loaded pallets or skids by means. of industrial lift trucks and the like, it frequently becomes Inecessary, particularly in connection with loads A4such. as piles .vor stacks of bagslled with bulk materials, i. e. flour,cement, etc., rto A.transfer the .loads from the pallets or skidsto-'the--elevator kof the truck, .in order to permit the load, `minus .the pallet, to be deposited on the floor .of a freight car or upon a previously deposited load in the freight car.v

lVarious methods and means have been proposed `for accomplishing this, but in each case, mechanism or means for holding .the pallet or skidwvhile stripping the load therefrom .was incorporated in the truck and-pallets of special con' structionrwere designed'for! use in connectionl .with such-holding or retaining mechanism. These expedients were not always satisfactory, .since the incorporation of .such retaining means inthe truck required space therefore where -space was at-.'ap.rernium,fand Ithe mechanism wasso .located as-'Lt'o make faccessrrtheretoffor repair. or replacement `'somewhat diicult. .Moreover', -the pallets, since they'were:especiallyrdesigned for `use inconnection zwithsuch mechanism nwere, .in 'some .instances,;lim'itedLin ;th'eir -eld of usefulness.

lThe present invention has assits primary .object they provision of means-for' lfacilitating the transfer offloadsoflthe character described from pallets to 'industrial trucks, Which-do :not `require the use of pallet retaining ror'lholding mecha-f nismfonzth'eltrucklitself', or'pa'llets of special construction. r

vOther `objects and fadvantages of the invention will :be-apparent: during A,the course: of Jthe .ffollowingfdescription.

In theaccompanying drawings, forming apart of.;tliisarspecifi'cation,y and.` inI which like numerals are :employed :to designate like .parts throughout thersame, 1 Eig 51- isea view, .illustrating :more :or less fdiagrammatically, z one :method and .means Yfor accomplishing the .objects vof, the invention;

:Figi 3 is across-sectional viewptakenfon-the line 3-3 of Figi;

:Fig 4 is :a rview-similar to Fig. 1but showinga modification of the invention; .Fig..5 is .-a-'view similar to .-Fig. 1,;butshowing the. 1oadas strippedfrom the-pallet;

Fig.. 6 isa view, partly in section and partlyin elevation, takenon'theline G-S of Fig. 4; `and `Eig. 7 is a cross-sectional View, taken `on the line .'l--l of Fig. 5.

-Referringto Figs. l, 2 and 3v of the drawings, it will be seen thatl anindustrial truck, such as is best adapted for use in conjunction with the n ovel features of the present invention, generally comprises a battery I which is used to furnish power for a .motor 2, which, through racks 3, functions to ktilt airame yli to various positions, as indicated in Eig. l. The frame comprises spaced channels having filler strips which serve as tracks or guides for the wheels of a vertically reciprocable elevator, generally designated E.

- The elevator is ypropelled lup or down-along the frame 4 by means of a cable or chain 5, the ends vof which are attached in any suitable manner to the elevator E, such chains or cables being driven by a motor-6, which derives its motive power from the battery l.

The elevator E is provided with a pair of laterally spaced forks 'i which in this instance, have plates -8 secured -to the upper surfaces thereof, the combined Width of :these plates being substantially equivalent to the Width of the ordinary load-supporting skid or pallet which trucks vof this character are designed vto transport` Such skids or l:pallets generally consist of an upper board B, va lower board L, sides, S, and a central longitudinally extending vertically -disposed vpartition P, all of these parts usually formed of woodvor like material. For the purpose of the .present invention, the upper board B will be covered with a smooth sheet of metal Aor other material upon Which a load may be easily slid.

The truck further includes a pusher or screeen 9, which is mounted von the elevator E and is reciprocable relatively to such elevator, being substantiallycoextensive in Width with the elevator. The construction of this pusher and the mechaf nism for reciprocating the samefrelativelytc the elevatorare fully described in the U. S. Patent'to Henry-VF. ,Wilma No. 2,371,661, and need vnot therefore be here described.

The truck,isldesigned-primarily forI the lifting and transporting of loaded pallets, as shown in Fig/l. Shouldthe operator, after he hastransported the loadto the desired position, `wish to` leave the skid with the load,-he will merely deposit the.- skid onlthe iioor or on apreviously deposited load, and back the truck away, the friction of theskid relatively to thefloor or to the top of the previously deposited load serving to permit this without necessitatingtheuse of the pusherll.

Should the operator, however, wish to transport the load into a freight car, it is desirable that the load be deposited without the pallet. For the purpose of facilitating the transfer of a load, such as a pile of bags (Fig. l), under such conditions, means have been provided for first transferring the load from the skid or pallet to the forks of the elevator. Such means comprises a stationary abutment I0, which is of somewhat greater width than the pusher 9, and is mounted on a hollow frame or enclosure consisting of a top II and sides I2, such enclosure being anchored to the floor F (which may be the floor of the warehouse) in any suitable manner.

Extending through the enclosure II--I2I in laterally-spaced relation is a pair of gripper bars or clamps I3 having serrated gripping or clamping faces I4. These bars are maintained (in laterally-spaced relation) by means of a rigid cross member I5, the ends of which are pivoted, as at I6, to the bars, and are maintained against relative longitudinal movement with respect to each other by means of pins I1y which extend upward from the bars I3 and into arcuate slots I1 in the ends of the member I5.

The gripping faces I4 of the bars I3 are adapted to be brought into engagement with the sides S of a skid by pivotal movement of the bars I3 about the pins IE, this being effected by a pair of toggle links I8, the outer ends of which are secured to the ends of the bars I3, as by pins I9, and the inner ends of which are secured to each other as by a pin 20. Secured to the pin 20 is a plunger 2l which extends into a cylinder 22, and is provided, Within the cylinder, with a piston head 23. By admitting air or oil into one end of the cylinder 22 as through a conduit 24, the plunger 2I is moved to the right (Fig. 2), thereby bringing the faces I4 into gripping engagement with the sides of the skid. By admitting air or oil into the opposite end of the cylinder 22, as through a conduit 25, the plunger 2l is moved to the left, thereby causing the gripping faces I4 to be released from the sides of the skid.

Mechanism has also been provided for removing the empty pallets from the enclosure I I--I2. For this purpose, the enclosure is disposed directly above one end of a pit or recess P in the floor, this pit extending at right angles to the enclosure, and having disposed therein an endless conveyor 26, driven by a motor 21.

The use of the aforesaid mechanism and means will now be described.

With the pusher 9 in its retracted position, as shown in Fig. 1, the operator will pick up the skid or pallet bearing the load, and move the truck so as to bring the load into engagement with the abutment III. Thereafter the plunger 2I will be actuated so as to bring the faces I4 of the clamping bars I3 into engagement with the sides S of the pallet. Continued movement of the plunger 2I, will then cause the pallet to be pulled within the enclosure II--I2, thereby, in effect, stripping the pallet from the forks 1 and from the load, and permitting the load to drop by gravity onto the plates 8 of the forks,

Upon movement of the plunger 2I to the left, the empty pallet will be released by the jaws I4 and will fall onto the conveyor 26, and be carried by such conveyor in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3, and to a position in which it may be picked up and removed to a stack of empty pallets.

The operator can then move the load into a 4 freight car, and, by means of the pusher 9, strip the load from the plates 8, and deposit the load on the floor of the car or on a previously deposited load.

In that form of the invention shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and '1, a stanchion 3D, similar to the abutment I0, is provided, and has mounted thereon a pusher 3l, which is similar in construction, and is adapted to be actuated in precisely the same manner as the pusher 9 on the truck, that is to say, the pusher 3I may be reciprocated relatively to the stanchion 30, which is anchored to the floor F of the warehouse.

The floor F has laterally-spaced recesses 32 therein, disposed in advance of the stanchion 30,

and rigidly secured to the floor of each of the recesses 32 is a plate 33 having an upright ange 34. Pivotally secured to each of the anges 34, as at 35, is a member 36 having stops 31 which are sloped as at 38 in the direction of movement of the truck. These stops are normally maintained above the level of the floor F by means of coil springs 39 which are secured to the other ends of members 3B and to the plates 33.

In operation, the truck carrying the loaded pallet is moved toward the stanchion 30, so as to bring the load into engagement with the pusher 3|. The pallet during this movement engages the stops 31 depressing the latter against the tension of the springs 39, thereby permitting the pallet to pass over the steps. When the pallet reaches the position shown in Fig. 4, the pallet has cleared the stops 31, and the springs 39 cause the stops to be elevated to the position shown.

Thereafter, the truck is backed away from the stanchion 39, as shown in Fig. 5, and at the same time, the pusher 3I is moved at the same speed as the truck to the position shown in Fig. 5. Since the pallet is retained by the stops 31 from moving from the position shown in Fig. 4, the result will be to strip the load from the pallet as shown in Fig. 5, causing it to be transferred to the plates 8 of the forks 1.

The load may then be moved into a freight car and, by means of the pusher 9, stripped from the plates 8 and deposited upon the floor of the freight car or on a previously deposited load.

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention, herewith shown and described, are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention. I claim:

1. In combination, a pallet for supporting a load, said pallet being adapted to receive a. loadcarrying element of a truck beneath the load supporting surface thereof; an abutment member adapted to engage one side ot the load; and means for engaging said pallet and moving the pallet from the load-carrying element and in the direction toward said abutment whereby said pallet is stripped from beneath the load and the load is deposited on said load-carrying element.

2. In combination, a pallet for supporting a load, said pallet being adapted to receive a loadcarrying element of a truck beneath the load supporting surface thereof; a stationary abutment for engaging said pallet for preventing movement of the pallet in one direction when the truck and load-carrying element is moved in said direction; and a movable abutment for engaging one side of said load for sliding said 5 load in said one direction whereby the load may be slidingly transferred to the load-carrying element of said truck by moving the truck in the same direction and at the same rate as the movable abutment.

3. In combination, a pallet for supporting a load, said pallet being adapted to receive a loadcarrying element of a truck beneath the load supporting surface thereof; an abutment member adapted to engage one side of the load; and means for engaging said pallet and moving the pallet from the load-carrying element and in the direction toward said abutment whereby said u pallet is stripped from beneath the load and the load is deposited on said load-carrying element,

said means including a pair of arms extendable along opposite sides of the pallet and being movable toward one another for engagement with the pallet.

4. In combination, a pallet for supporting a load, said pallet being adapted to receive a loadcarrying element of a truck beneath the load supporting surface thereof; an abutment member comprising a base and a vertical wall extending from the base, said base having an opening for receiving said pallet therethrough; and movable means extending through said opening and being adapted to engage and withdraw said pallet through the opening whereby the load may be stripped from the pallet and onto said loadcarrying element.

5. In combination, a pallet for supporting a load, said pallet being adapted to receive a loadcarrying element of a truck beneath the load supporting surface thereof; an abutment spaced from the iioor for engaging a side of the load on the pallet without engaging the pallet; means for reciprocating said abutment in a pallet strip-i ping stroke; and means forming a stop for engaging an edge of the pallet for preventing movement of the pallet in the direction of said stroke, said stop means being disposed to be spaced from said abutment when the abutment is at one end of its stroke for admitting the pallet between the vertical plane of the abutment and the stop means.

6. In combination, a pallet for supporting a load, said pallet being adapted to receive a load carrying element of a truck beneath the load supporting surface thereof; means forming an abutment adapted to engage a side of said load; means for positively engaging said pallet while said pallet is carried by said load carrying element for effecting relative movement between the pallet and load engaging abutment means, one of said means being movable in line relative to the other whereby the pallet may be slidingly removed from between the load and the load carrying element and the load deposited directly on said load carrying element.

WILLIAM ISLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,149,309 Von Phul et al. Aug. 10, 1915 1,526,993 Luce Feb. 17, 1925 2,256,454 Bomar Sept. 16, 1941 2,394,692 Isler Feb. 12, 1946 2,394,693 Golrick Feb. 12, 1946 

